Lithuanian lands were
united under Mindaugas in 1236; over the next century, through
alliances and conquest, Lithuania extended its territory to include
most of present-day Belarus and Ukraine. By the end of the 14th century
Lithuania was the largest state in Europe. An alliance with Poland in
1386 led the two countries into a union through the person of a common
ruler. In 1569, Lithuania and Poland formally united into a single dual
state, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. This entity survived until
1795, when its remnants were partitioned by surrounding countries.
Lithuania regained its independence following World War I, but was
annexed by the USSR in 1940 - an action never recognized by the US and
many other countries. On March 11, 1990, Lithuania became the first of
the Soviet republics to declare its independence, but Moscow did not
recognize this proclamation until September of 1991 (following the
abortive coup in Moscow). The last Russian troops withdrew in 1993.
Lithuania subsequently restructured its economy for integration into
western European institutions; it joined both NATO and the EU in the
spring of 2004. Lithuanian is the official language; Russian and Polish are
also spoken.